I love to listen to two kinds of radio - talk radio and sports talk radio. Get the theme? People are talking to me about stuff and I have the chance to learn something. Last night, I was listening to a late night talk radio show and heard a local (Mpls-St. Paul) coach and author talking about life plans. All of my coaching clients spend time working on a life plan. We may not call it a life plan, but it's a discussion about ...

1) What's important to you in your life? (values)

2) What do you want to be doing with your life? (g0als)

3) Who do you want to be in your life? (personal behaviors)

Many of us are so busy living our lives that we forget to have a plan for our lives. At some point we pause and ask ourselves "how did I get here? This wasn't in my plan." Yet, many of us didn't really have a plan - we just took off and jumped into action - life took it from there and pushed or pulled us in various directions.

The radio discussion was great and the most important thing she said is that we have to WRITE IT DOWN! Pull out some paper and write down your life plan. Not your career plan or family plan or financial plan - your LIFE plan. What are you going to do in your life? WRITE IT DOWN and TELL SOMEONE WHAT IT IS! Astounding research shows that writing it down is the most critical step in the process for a successful life. You may change your plan every month or year and that's okay. As we have more life experience, our plans can change. It's not about your getting the "right" plan the first time around. It's about having one - setting it in your mind - thinking about it - making choices that move you toward it.

I realized last night that I do not have a LIFE PLAN written down and that really bothers me. By the end of the weekend I will have a LIFE PLAN on paper. This week my challenge for you is to WRITE DOWN YOUR LIFE PLAN, and if you don't have one - GET ONE! Please share your thoughts on this simple, yet powerful challenge this week.